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“Evenin’, Sheriff.” Jessica, part-time waitress and local caterer, met him at the booth with a menu and the orange-handled coffeepot. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy in her blotched face, and it was clear as day she’d been crying. Her small fingers trembled as she turned his cup upright in order to fill it for him. Derek felt tears of his own threaten. “Aw shit.” He pushed up from his seat and wrapped her in close for a big hug. “I’m so sorry, honey. I’m gonna catch this bastard, okay?” At her sniffle and nod, he added, “Until I do, I need you to promise me you’re going to be extra careful.” At her second nod, he took her frail shoulders in his hands and stooped to look her in the eye. “Not good enough. I need your promise. No going off with strangers, and no going off at night alone. Even if you’re driving. That beater of yours breaks down way too much. If you have to drive alone at all, take your momma’s car, okay?” Another sniffle and nod. “Okay then.” He kissed her on top of the head the same way he’d been doin’ since she was in his Sunday school class. “Just bring me whatever she’s got back there that she needs to use up. I don’t care.”
“M’kay.” Jessica sniffled, wiped her eyes with both hands, and turned toward the kitchen, her small shoulders trembling under the weight of her grief.
Nine hours he’d spent in that field with the daughter of his high school sweetheart. A child who had been just as rebellious and outrageous and full of life as her mother had been at that age. The carnage that was wrought on her small frame had been almost more than he could bear. Keeping his professionalism in place, for the sake of his crew as much as his sanity, had been one of the hardest moments he’d ever faced in his career. He was a small-town sheriff in an idyllic community. Born and raised here, he’d grown up always knowing what he was going to be, and he loved everything about his job. Though he’d never admit it out loud, his hero had been Sheriff Andy from Mayberry. Up until recently, he’d done a pretty good job of attaining that dream. His arrests were always handled with his practiced and calming approach, and he hardly ever had any trouble. A few underage drinkers on the weekends, drunk and disorderlys around the holidays and summer months, a few domestic disturbances, and stupid Cooter Jones who kept trying to grow weed on his daddy’s back forty. Derek considered himself wise enough to know when he was in over his head, so when FBI Agent Max Shimmer slid into the booth across from him, it was relief he felt when he met the man’s eyes. What he saw in the agent facing him was strength and capability, and in his foreboding expression he also saw a confidence earned through blood and grit.
“Hey, Sheriff.” His grip was strong and sure in Derek’s as they shook hands over the distance between them. “Max Shimmer. Sorry to be meeting under these circumstances. Thanks for calling us in.”
“Hey.” Weariness continued to leech the energy from his bones like air from a punctured tire, but Derek straightened his shoulders and plunged in, absurdly grateful to pass on this particular torch. “I know who you are. I researched your background back when you got appointed to our region.”
When Max lifted a brow at that, Derek added, “I’ve researched who held your position as long as I’ve been in office here. I like to know who and what is going to have my back when the shit goes down.”
Both brows shot up this time, and the other man nodded in approval. “Smart. Can’t say I wouldn’t be doing the same in your position. Nice change from the territorial bulldogs I’m used to facing.”
“I’m not going to roll over and play dead if that’s what you were hoping for,” Derek told him with steel in his tone. “These people entrust me with their safety. If providing that means I gotta call in the big guns, well shit, I’m callin’. I know how to recognize when I’m in over my head, and I’d rather accept that I need a life preserver than drown tryin’ to pretend I can swim.” He faced the agent without flinching and trusted he’d receive the same respect he was giving. Everything he read about Max Shimmer had instilled confidence, and from what he saw in front of him, the guy looked up to the hype.
“God, it’s refreshing to hear that.” Those strong shoulders didn’t relax so much as adjusted, as if he were shrugging on the mantle of trust he’d just been handed and was getting comfortable with it. “I’m sure you know, historically, your boys and mine don’t usually play so well together.”
“And how does that work out for them?” Derek took a swig of his decaf, hated the emptiness of it without that caffeine jolt, but it warmed his frozen gut, so he took another swallow before continuing. “Way I see it, having a pissing contest over brutalized girls wasn’t going to do anything but slow us down.” He sat back so Jessica could set a heaping bowl of stew in front of him along with a basket of buttermilk biscuits. “Thanks, Jessica. This looks better than I’d hoped for.” He looked toward Max. “You want to order? Food’s great here if you like country-style home cooking.”
“It looks great. Yeah, I’ll have the same,” Max said and nodded at Jessica with a soft expression that Derek appreciated. It was clear he recognized her sorrow, and the fact that he did only underlined the faith Derek placed in him. “I’ll have some sweet tea instead of coffee, please.” She nodded solemnly and turned away without another word. They both watched her go before Max asked, “She was close to the last victim?”
“Yeah, they grew up together.”
“I’ll need to ask her some questions,” he said and looked after the way she’d gone.
“Hey? That can wait. She’s not—”
The agent held up a hand in a calming gesture. “Of course, not tonight. I’m not a moron. Only thinking out loud, Sheriff.”
Derek scrubbed both hands over his face, felt the day’s stubble grate his palms like sandpaper. “Sorry. On edge. It’s been a day.”
“To say the least.”
Jessica returned with Max’s order, and the two men dug in without further speaking.
Chapter 15
Jax worked on the quarterlies for the local hardware store and wondered how the sweet elderly couple who owned and ran it had managed to stay in business before they hired him. Their books were a mess. Half their receipts were missing, there were handwritten IOUs from people in lieu of a credit line, and a snarled mess of records from their ancient cash register that never tallied up. He scrubbed two-handed at his face and told himself all he needed was another cup of coffee, and then he’d get through this mess. Caffeine fixed everything.
A knock at his door had him veering off from where the coffee beckoned and heading for the front office instead. He had a receptionist, but it was her lunch break. He usually locked up for the hour she was away from her desk and let his phone service man the calls so he could work uninterrupted, but since he was up anyway, he figured he might as well answer it.
“Hello, how can I help you today?” Jax eyed the stranger in front of him. The guy looked like he just walked off the set ofMen in Black. He had the requisite black suit and tie with the starched white shirt and even wore the shades to complete the ensemble. “Did another Arquilian prince get assassinated?”
“It’s all right. We found the galaxy on Orion’s belt,” he responded without missing a beat or cracking a smile. Jax liked him immediately. “I’m Agent Max Shimmer, FBI. I’d like to ask you a few questions if you’ve got the time?”
“Whoa.” Jax’s expression went blank. “Sure. Come in. What’s this about?”
“I just have some follow-up questions for you. I’m picking up where the sheriff left off on the cases of the murdered young women.”
“Oh?” Jax’s mind scrambled. It had been tedious enough dealing with Derek’s loosely veiled questions yesterday. Derek and he had grown up together, but he’d always been Luke’s friend more than his, and Jax could never quite shake the sense that Derek still saw him as the metal-head who ran off with the quarterback’s girl. Now he had to go through it all again with Agent Hollywood? “I told him everything he wanted to know.” But he stepped aside and motioned him in with a warm smile, even as his mind went into cold lockdown.
“I won’t take long,” the agent told him as he followed Jax into the office. “You know the drill. My stop here is just a formality.”
Formality, my ass, Jax thought. His hair was a natural color, his piercings were all removed, and he kept his tats covered. And let’s not forget to mention the fact that he was a lawyer now on top of all the rest. Yet here he stood, facing another law enforcement official anyway. Resentment boiled on a low fire in his belly; no matter how many layers of respectability he slapped on, this town was forever going to see him as the bad guy.
“I’m really not expecting anything new. I just like to familiarize myself with the whole case once I’ve taken one over. Go through all his steps before I start taking my own.” He smiled genially. “Shouldn’t take long.”
Jax ached to punch the guy right in his pearly white smile.
